 |
| CF: In Memories I
Am Lost, Pt. 1
Date: 3/5/2001
The Kai clone looked like any other, except that his clothes were perhaps not as well made or kept, and his hair was a little more disheveled. No one on the street would have noticed him as something different from the others. In truth, he wasn’t different, at least not from the dozens of other Nadless Kais that roamed around KaiTown. As long as they behaved themselves and steered clear of the APEC clones who hated them, no one bothered them. He walked along the street, hands thrust deep into the pockets of his worn BDUs, looking glum and purposeless. Since the collapse of the Nadless army, he had nothing in particular to do, no reason really for existing. And it was a hand-to-mouth existence, scrounging protoblood where he could find it, occasionally having to make do with the dreadful Mountain Dew. No, he had nothing in his life… except for her. He sometimes lurked in the woods near the Castle, hoping to get a glimpse of her. He knew others of his brothers who had fallen under the spell of APEC mistresses. He suspected that all their desires to belong and have a purpose had been projected onto those mistresses, but he could not break the spell even for himself. He had seen her. He wanted her. And He could not stop thinking about how to get her. He found himself in front of a shop window on a sidestreet, staring at the objects displayed there. Something stirred in his mind, a vague memory… yes, once he had seen an APEC clone give something to his mistress. A gift? He stared at the objects in the window, and then looked at the letters painted on the glass. Everything You Want, Nothing You Need. He would send her a gift. He opened the door and a little bell rang over his head, startling him. Still, he gathered his courage and stepped inside. The shop was a jumble of shelves and tables, covered with objects of every make and description. Slowly, he circled some of the displays, completely at a loss as to what kind of gift to give. What did she like? He realized that he knew very little about her, except that something inside him tightened like a close-wound spring whenever he saw her. It wasn’t reasonable, but he had given up expecting reason from this mad world into which he had been unwillingly pulled. “Can I help you?” He almost jumped at the sound of the crackly, old voice, but he stilled the reflex. There was nothing for an antiKai to fear from this creature. It was an old woman... or perhaps an old man ... hard to tell, so stooped and wrinkled it was, with wild, white hair sticking every which way. The creature hobbled closer from behind the counter where it had been sitting, and squinted at him with its one good eye, a bright blue orb that seemed to take the measure of him in an instant. “I’m looking for ... a gift.” “What sort of gift?” “I don’t know.” “Mph,” grunted the creature. “Then for whom is this gift?” “My... a woman. She lives in the APEC Castle.” The creature tilted its head quizzically. “But you are an antiKai. One of the Nadless ones, are you not?” He scowled and lowered his head. How did they always know? “Yes.” The creature smiled to itself and raised one stick-like finger. “I have just the thing.” He looked up hopefully. The creature hobbled back behind the counter and rummaged there for a moment, before turning back to him. In its hands it held a shining black globe, no larger than the space of its two hands, glimmering like a solid ball of onyx tied up with golden bands. The creature cackled to itself and hobbled toward him. “What is it?” He asked, staring at it. “Nothing.” The creature waved one hand dismissively. “It is a nothing, a trifle, a pretty to set on a shelf and admire. But ...” the creature’s smile grew larger, “listen.” The wrinkled old hand made a pass over the top of the orb, and suddenly the air was filled with a soft chorus of voices singing crystalline notes of pure beauty. He was captivated. “Oh, it’s beautiful.” He reached for it eagerly. “How much?” The creature snatched it away. “Your hands aren’t clean. You’ll soil it. I’ll wrap it for you.” He scowled again. But he didn’t argue, for fear the creature would drive up the price. He could take it by force, but something made him cautious. And besides, if he did, the townspeople and the APEC clones would hunt him down. “How much?” he asked again. “For you?” The creature nodded, and smiled again. “I have a special price. The price is only the sound of your name.” “Excuse me?” “Tell me your name. For that, I will give you the orb.” He stared at the wizened old thing, puzzled at this unexpected generosity. It was not in him to be trusting. There had to be a catch. “Come, come. Only for the price of your name will I give you this prize. It will not harm you to speak your name aloud, will it?” Well... he supposed there was no harm. He could easily defend himself against this old creature if there were a trick. “I am called SniperKai,” he said.
Date: 3/6/2001
* * * * * * *
I apologize to Bookery Fantasy for the use of their logo, and to Bablyon5 for the concept of the orb. * * * * * * * In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 2
MyKai sat on the floor of the hallway where he'd been sitting for the better part of an hour, with his head pressed against the closed door of his and dgrequeen's quarters. Inside, he could hear soft weeping. "Please, my queen," he pleaded. "Let me in." There was no answer, and the weeping continued unabated. MyKai thumped his forehead against the door in frustration, palms pressed against the wood. "Please, tell me what's wrong. Has someone hurt you?" No answer. He sat listening for a while, and then, suddenly remembering something, he jumped up and ran down the hall. Quickly he pounded on VisionAri's door. Kai10 answered. "MyKai, what…?" "I need your lock picks!" MyKai said, cutting him off. "Fast!" Kai10 put on his innocent look. "What… lockpicks? I don't have any ---" "Come on, come on, I know you've got a set! You may be able to fool VisionAri, but you don't fool me! Give!" The younger clone hesitated, and then, sighing, let MyKai in while he went to his room. Soon, he came out with a small leather foldover pouch. MyKai eagerly reached for it, and Kai10 snatched it back. "You keep quiet about this, hear me? If VisionAri finds out I've got these…" "I won't say a word!" MyKai said impatiently. "Give them here." "What do you need them for anyway?" Kai10 asked, following MyKai out and down the hall, much to MyKai's chagrin. "Dgrequeen won't let me in," he said, reaching into the pouch and pulling out a long, thin piece of metal, and a shorter, equally thin piece, almost like heavy wire. Kneeling in front of the door, he inserted the metal pieces into the lock and began trying to trip the tumblers. Kai10 leaned against the wall with his arms folded and smirked at his older brother. "Mm hmm. And what did you do this time to make her so mad at you?" "I haven't done anything!" MyKai said. "Can't you hear her crying in there? Something's wrong, and she won't open the door." Now it was Kai10's turn to be concerned. He pressed his ear to the door. "By the Original! Should we break the door down?" MyKai frowned at him. "No, fool! If she's just stubbed her toe or something, then how would we explain it?" "Oh. I guess you're right." "There! Got it!" MyKai shoved open the door and rushed in with Kai10 on his heels, braces ready in case of danger. But there was nothing. Dgrequeen sat on the sofa, face in her hands, weeping. MyKai strode over to her and, sitting down, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face against his chest, sobbing openly. "My queen, what is it?" he said, tilting her face up with a hand under her chin, " What has happened?" He looked searchingly into her reddened eyes, and wiped away the tears with his hand. It hurt him to see her like this. She couldn't answer. All she could do was squeeze her eyes shut, forcing out a new spate of tears, and point toward the table at the end of the sofa. Kai10 looked at the thing she was pointing to and picked it up, curiously. It was a small, perfectly round orb of some solidly black material, quadrisected by thin, shimmering gold bands. Kai10 held it up to his eyes to inspect it closely, and suddenly put it back down, wiping his hand on his trouser leg. "What is that?" MyKai asked. "I… I don't know, brother. But it's very … strange." MyKai started to set dgrequeen aside, but she tightened her grip around his neck and pressed her face into his chest. He hugged her, smoothing her hair. "There, it's all right, my queen. Let go, my darling." He reached up and tried to pull her arms from around his neck, but she refused to let go and clung to him all the tighter. Unwilling to force her, he gave up and sat there, looking at Kai10 helplessly. Kai10 hesitated. Then he reluctantly picked up the orb and brought it over to them. He knelt down beside the sofa and said, "Dgrequeen, is this what's upsetting you?" One eye peeked through falling strands of hair. Seeing the orb in his hands, she suddenly shrieked and pushed herself away from the startled MyKai with both hands, trying to drag herself across his lap and over to the far end of the sofa, away from the orb. "Take it away!" MyKai yelled, holding on to her, and Kai10 hurriedly turned away. He ran to the windowsill, where he laid the orb down and quickly backed away from it, rubbing his hands together. "MyKai, there's something wrong with that thing," he said. But MyKai wasn't listening. He held dgrequeen tightly, shushing her and stroking her face and hair, trying to calm her. Her screams had turned to whimpers and her body was rigid. Her eyes rolled up in her head, and she suddenly went limp. "Dgre! My queen!" MyKai lifted her lolling
head. He looked at Kai10, desperation in his eyes. "Get VisionAri! Now!"
Date: 3/7/2001
* * * * * * * In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 3
News traveled fast in the APEC castle. Several Kai brothers and their ladies had gathered in dgrequeen's quarters and were sitting or standing around the living room, talking in hushed voices. Kai10 stood close by the distraught MyKai, trying to comfort him. Everyone in the room avoided the black orb sitting on the windowsill. Finally, VisionAri opened the door of the bedroom and came out. MyKai turned and took a few anxious steps toward her. "She's all right," VisionAri said. "She's sleeping now. Zen is with her." "But what happened?" MyKai asked. "We won't know until she can tell us," VisionAri said. Her eyes narrowed and she walked over to the windowsill. "But it's got something to do with this." "What is that thing?" asked Fields-of-Heather, eyeing the orb suspiciously. VisionAri seemed to be gathering her strength. Then she slowly reached out with both hands and picked the orb up. She brought it to eye level and stared at it. The gold bands shimmered, light rippling along their lengths, flashing tiny sparkles where they intersected. VisionAri began to tremble, her eyes focused on something far beyond the orb, something deep in its blackness. The air in the room seemed to hum with whispered voices, although no one spoke. Everyone stood transfixed, feeling inexplicable and mounting dread at the increasing glow of light coming from the orb. Kai10 rushed to VisionAri's side but didn't dare try to touch her. His hands flexed in frustration, wanting to knock the thing away from her. The hum grew louder, and the eerie light brighter. Clear notes seemed to sing in the air, a song of dreadful beauty. VisionAri was visibly struggling now. "Vis!" Kai10 cried in fear. Suddenly she screamed and threw the orb away from her. It hit the wall and bounced onto the rug, harmless and solid. The light was gone, the room silent. No one moved or spoke. MyKai sprang forward and he and Kai10 caught VisionAri as she staggered back, carrying her between them to a chair. Kai10 knelt in front of her, rubbing her hands, and MyKai brought her a glass of water. "What IS that thing?" Kai10 asked. "I've heard of such things," VisionAri said, rubbing her temples to fight the headache that was quickly mounting an assault. "But I never thought I'd see one." "What?" "It's a..." she shook her head, still disbelieving. "I think it's a soul catcher." The silence in the room was thick. Everyone was riveted on VisionAri's words, but their eyes slid sideways toward the black orb on the floor. MyKai closed his eyes. "Did it...?" "No! MyKai, she didn't have it long enough. She's all right, I promise you." He bowed his head, clearly relieved. "The faerie folk tell of them. They are anathema to us and to all who live." VisionAri drank her water and tried to catch her breath a little before continuing. "It's said that the great Insect Civilization might have used them, and that was how His Divine Shadow was able to absorb the memories of all he killed, but the technology or --- whatever it is --- is far, far older than even the Insects. How on earth did it get here?" DionysusKai, standing in the corner of the room, hesitantly stepped forward. "I brought it," he said. Everyone turned to stare at him. "Ny!" Pandora gasped. "Someone dropped it off at the front gate," he said, defensively. "I didn't know what it was, it was just a box with a note to dgre. So I brought it up." "Where is the note?" MyKai demanded. "I left it here with the box, of course." After a short, but urgent search, Fields-of-Heather found the box under the sofa, where it had been kicked. MyKai yanked out the crumpled tissue the orb had been wrapped in, but there was no note. "I have to speak to her," he told VisionAri. VisionAri started to object, but ZenFAA chose that moment to come to the door. Everyone turned to him expectantly. "She wants you," he said to MyKai, who rushed into the bedroom. He stretched himself beside her on the bed and took her hand in his. Her color was somewhat better, but there were dark circles under her closed eyes. He almost decided not to ask her any questions, not wanting to distress her, but he had to know who had done this to her and why. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him. "MyKai?" "I'm here." "What happened?" "You must tell me. Someone sent a dangerous gift to you. You must tell me who sent it." She sighed and pointed to the armchair near the bed, where her clothes were. "In my pocket," she said. He kissed her forehead, and then went to the chair and searched until he found the crumpled note in the pocket of her jeans. Carefully, he smoothed it out and read: 'I expect nothing from you. I want only for you to have this gift from someone who loves you' Slowly, he crumpled the note again in his fist, his eyes darkening as he began to tremble with rage. SniperKai.
Date: 3/7/2001
CF: In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 4
"You don't know it was him," she said, leaning against the door frame. The apartment was empty of everyone but herself and her clones now that everyone knew she would be all right. ZenFAA sat in the corner meditating to regain some balance, and the possum was rooting, as usual, somewhere in the kitchen. Dgrequeen stood now in the doorway of MyKai's room, arguing with him. "I do know," he shot back at her. He was twisting his hair up the warrior's knot. "Who else would it be?" "Any number of people. You know as well as I do how many enemies APEC has. I don't think this was directed at me. I think it was directed at whatever target in APEC it could reach." "It doesn't matter. Kai21 saw him from the battlements, lurking around, watching the gate." She sighed. "So, what are you going to do? Thwack him, I suppose, and then what?" "Make sure he never looks at you again." MyKai finished with his hair and turned to face her, fingering his brace with his left hand. "MyKai, he doesn't mean anything to me. The poor thing doesn't have anything of his own. How would he get his hands on something as awful as that... that ball thing... unless somebody gave it to him and tricked him into bringing it here?" "Then I will find out who that somebody is." He picked up the battered giftbox, now containing the deadly orb, and brushed past her, heading for the door. "I don't want you to go," she said, following him. "It's too dangerous." He turned back and stroked her cheek with his hand. "It's dangerous if I don't go. Dangerous for all of us. Someone has a power we can't control or defend against. We must know who it is, and how we can counteract it." "Then I'll go with you." "No!" he yelled, and then, at her expression, his tone softened. "I will ask some of my brothers to accompany me. I promise you I will be all right." "That's not good enough. I'm going," she said flatly. MyKai looked over her shoulder and nodded. ZenFAA, who had quietly risen and walked up behind her, threw his arms around her suddenly, holding tight. "Zen! What are you... Let go of me!" She began to struggle and kick, but Zen was too strong for her. A glance passed between the two clones, and MyKai nodded and headed out the door. He could hear dgrequeen yelling threats even when he reached the bottom of the stairs. Her ferocity made him smile. He did not envy ZenFAA this night. Kai10 and DionysusKai caught up with him as he passed the Great Hall. They fell into step, undeterred by his frown. "What are you going to do?" Kai10 asked. "Find the one who sent this... thing." MyKai glanced at the giftbox he carried. "And kill him?" "Possibly. Possibly he will pay in worse ways." "I'm coming with you." Kai10 stood up straighter. "No. I want you stay here with your lady, and watch over my queen." "MyKai..." "VisionAri needs you. My queen will need your protection as well." He held up his hand, cutting off Kai10's protest. "I will not argue, brother. Do this favor for me." Kai10 reluctantly nodded. "But I will come, brother," DionysusKai said.
"I have already spoken to Pandora, and she agreed. You can't go alone.
Dgrequeen would never forgive us if we let you." He
"It's not your fault, Ny," MyKai said. "I know." DionysusKai looked directly at MyKai, who could see the determination and the unwilling guilt in his eyes. MyKai shook his head, but he said, "All right. You can come. But you do what I say, understood?" DionysusKai shrugged. "Of course, brother. Do you know where to start?" "I think so." MyKai flexed his brace. "First,
we go to KaiTown."
Date: 3/8/2001
In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 5
HotMama was busily perusing her copy of Motorcyle Monthly, which she'd just got that morning, when the door to the LeatherAss Bar banged open and in walked two APEC clones. She sighed to herself, put down her stogie and the magazine, and reached for the long, heavy oak axe handle she kept under the bar by the cash register, because these two looked like they meant business. One was checking his brace, the other carried a mean looking compound bow, with a quiver full of arrows, on his back. "We're not here for trouble," MyKai said, seeing her reach. "We're looking for somebody." "What is this, Missing Persons? You got no business here, get out." "Like I said, we don't want trouble. You can help me or not, it's up to you, but I'm not leaving till I get what I'm after." Several antiKais quietly got up from their tables and began to move closer to the bar. HotMama eyed them, taking puffs on her stogie. She looked back at the two APEC clones. "I remember you," she said. "You were in here a few months ago. Busted up my place pretty good." She stared at him, eyes narrowed, through the smoke of her stogie, but MyKai didn't answer. At last, she said, "All right. Who you looking for?" "Calls himself SniperKai." "Sniper? What d'ya want him for? He don't cause no trouble." "Yeah, Sniper's a friend of mine," said one of the antiKais. "So what d'ya want with him?" MyKai and DionsysusKai gauged the number of antiKais crowding around and shifted so that they were standing almost back to back. MyKai set the gift box down on the bar and lifted the lid. He took the orb out of the box, even though it distressed him to touch it, and held it out. "Do any of you know where this came from?" In the back, an antiKai exploded out of his chair and ran for the back door, knocking over chairs in his haste. In one smooth motion, MyKai tossed the orb back into the box and fired his brace, pinning the fleeing clone against the back wall. Three of the antiKais fired braces at MyKai, but DionysusKai deflected them all by throwing a chair, and the braces crashed into the stack of glasses and bottles behind the bar, shattering them. He picked up another chair and turned toward HotMama's brand new mirror behind the bar. "Call them off!" he yelled. "STOP!" HotMama smacked the axe handle on the bar top, and the antiKais backed away. "I don't need my place busted up again!" MyKai shoved his way through the reluctant antiKais to where he had the clone pinned. He retracted his brace and quickly grabbed the clone by the neck of his T-shirt, jerking him around and throwing him back against the wall. MyKai snarled in his face and leaned against him, pressing his forearm into the clone's throat. "SniperKai!" he hissed. "I don't want trouble with you, MyKai," Sniper rasped, not offering any resistance. "All I did was send her a gift, that's all." MyKai gritted his teeth and dragged SniperKai to the bar. He thrust him against it, shoving his face down next to the gift box. Reaching into the box, he brought the orb out and held it inches from SniperKai's eyes, which widened in shock. "THIS is what you sent her, you waste of DNA!" Sniper gasped and tried to pull away from the orb, but MyKai held him fast. "Wha… I…" The antiKai struggled harder. "Get it away! Get it away!" HotMama, watching closely, reached for the orb, but DionysusKai grabbed her wrist, holding it in a steely grip. "Trust me," he said. "You don't want to touch it." Unable to stand holding it any longer, MyKai dropped the orb back into its box and allowed SniperKai to stand. MyKai resisted the urge to wipe his hand off on his clothes. Instead, he flexed the brace and held its open blades to SniperKai's throat. "Where did you get it?" he demanded. "I didn't know…" Sniper said, nearly on the verge of tears. "I didn't… what's WRONG with that thing?" "WHERE DID YOU GET IT?" "A shop. Over on the next street. Some old biddy sold it to me, but she…" MyKai had to hand it to SniperKai. He looked genuinely distressed. "She what?" "She wouldn't let me touch it. Told me I'd get it dirty. She wrapped it and I had it delivered, because I knew you'd come after me if you knew I was anywhere near the castle. I swear I didn't know it was dangerous." The other antiKais had drawn farther back, sensing something dire emanating from the orb. Its golden bands shimmered lightly, and the air around it seemed to hum. DionysusKai closed the lid on the box and the orb subsided, apparently no longer sensing victims. "Show me this shop," MyKai said, pulling Sniper forward by the arm. The antiKais tensed, but Sniper waved them off. "It's all right, he isn't going to do anything to me," he said. "I don't have anything to hide, MyKai. I'll show you where I got it." "And don't try anything," MyKai said. His answer was the contemptuous curl of SniperKai's
upper lip.
Date: 3/9/2001
* * * * * * * In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 6
"Is she...?" SniperKai hesitated, cutting his eyes sideways at the grim-faced MyKai, as they walked along the street. DionysusKai walked behind them, keeping his eyes on Sniper. "What?" Sniper ducked his head at MyKai's tone, but he had to know. "Is she all right?" MyKai's jaw tightened, and he waited a moment before he answered. "She's fine." SniperKai looked relieved, but he didn't say anything. "It's down this way," he said, pointing, and they rounded a corner into the sidestreet where the shop was. "Just a few doors down." They walked nearly to the end of the block. Sniper stopped and looked back the way they had come, his expression a little confused. "This is the street, I'm sure," he said. He backtracked a few yards, and looked into the window where he had thought the shop was. The letters painted on the glass were elegant gold, and they said: Parisienne Parfum MyKai threw SniperKai up against the wall of the building. "Are you trying to make a fool of me?" he snarled. "No! MyKai, I swear! This was the place... I think." Sniper pushed away from him and started walking. "Maybe it's the next block over." They went around the block, Sniper searching every storefront, until they ended up back in the same place in front of the perfume shop. Sniper looked up and down the street, trying to get his bearings. "This is the place. This is... was... the shop. It was here this morning!" Dionysus tilted his head and said quietly, "MyKai, I think he's telling the truth." MyKai was frustrated by this turn of events, but he had to believe Sniper too, despite himself. He looked from one to the other, and then, turning on his heel, marched straight into the shop. Dionysus and Sniper glanced at each other, and followed. The proprietor of the shop, a thin, balding young man with a rather supercilious expression on his face, came forward, visibly pasting a professional smile on his mouth. He looked slightly pained at the sight of three Kai clones entering his establishment, even though Kai clones, especially APEC Kai clones, were notorious for buying extravagant gifts for their ladies. "Good afternoon," he said, folding his long thin hands and looking down his nose at them. "How may I help you?" MyKai looked around the shop. "How long has this shop been here?" The man raised an eyebrow. "Beg pardon?" "I said… how long has this shop been here? My friend," MyKai put his hand on SniperKai's shoulder and squeezed painfully, "seems to think there was something else in here this morning." "Well!" The man looked irritated, confused, and amused all at the same time. "Parisienne Parfum has been here since 1976. We carry premiere…" "That's not possible!" Sniper shouted, causing the man to step back, startled. MyKai grinned and shoved Sniper back toward Dionysus. "What he means is," he said in a placating tone, "we're looking for a shop that sells gift items." "*We* sell gift items," the man said, lifting his nose a little higher. "Yes, of course. He thought it was on this street, in this location, actually. They sell objects much like this one." MyKai lifted the orb out of its box. "Oh. You mean…" The man leaned forward to look at the orb. "How… kitsch," he said, and he leaned a little closer. His eyes were riveted on it. His mouth opened a little, and he ran his tongue across his lower lip. The orb hummed in MyKai's hand. He looked up, as the walls of the shop seemed to ripple and shimmer. Crystal vials of perfume rattled and clinked in their display cases. The scene shifted, and they were looking at dingy walls, rickety shelves crammed with bits of pottery, porcelain, objects crafted together with beads, feathers, and sticks, every imaginable kind of jar and cup and figure. Before they could make it out clearly, the scene shifted back again to the parfumerie, and yet again to the dark, old shop, and back again, like the blinking of a light. MyKai shoved the ball back in its box and everything settled down. He and DionysusKai looked at each other, each slightly nauseated. The thin man folded his hands together again, and said, apparently oblivious to what had just happened, "Well, I'm not sure what shop you're looking for, but you're obviously in the wrong place." DionysusKai was the first to speak. "I think we should go, MyKai. This isn't the
place."
Date: 3/10/2001
* * * * * * * In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 7
dgrequeen sat on her bed, sulking. ZenFAA had just brought lunch --- a bowl of homemade vegetable soup and a hunk of fresh-baked bread --- but it sat on the table nearby getting cold while she thought about how to get out of this. They had locked her in like an unruly child, unbelievable. Zen had to physically restrain her to keep her from following MyKai, and he'd tried to be stern with her, forbidding her to leave the castle. Imagine, clones ordering their mistress around! She answered him with a swift kick to the shins, and then a chase ensued down the stairs and nearly to the gate before he caught her and hauled her back, kicking and screaming. And worse, not one of the other APEC women would help her! "Sorry, dgre," TwilightRhapsody mumbled on the stairs as Zen carried her past. "VisionAri said you need to stay home until you're stronger." "Stronger!" dgre yelled, flailing uselessly against ZenFAA's arms. "How strong do I have to be?!" This was intolerable. She shuddered, thinking of MyKai out there... facing who knew what danger. And even though DionysusKai was with him, she trembled in fear, thinking of what might happen to him, or just as bad, what he might do. For the eleventh time, she went out on the balcony and looked down. It was no good. Zen had locked the door into the living room, and she couldn’t reach any of the other balconies. And it was too high up to tie bedsheets together. She went back inside. The doorknob to the bedroom rattled as Zen unlocked it. Slowly, he peeked in, ready to jump back in case she decided to launch some object at his head. But she sat on the bed scowling and made no move to damage him. "I'll let you out, if you promise to behave," he said. Truthfully, he hated keeping her locked up like this. She didn't answer, merely sat there with his arms folded, glaring at him. "Do you? Promise?" Finally, she nodded. "Okay." He glanced at the soup and bread on the table. "I've made some brownies," he said. "Maybe that'll take your mind off things." Sulking, she went into the living room and sat down on the sofa, folding her arms, refusing to look at him or speak to him. He sighed and went into the kitchen. And that’s when she saw it. It was just a small, brown, leather foldover toolbag, lying on the end table, where it had obviously been forgotten. Sneaking a glance toward the kitchen, she snatched the bag off the table and peeked inside. Just as she suspected. This was what MyKai had used to get in. Quickly, she tucked it into the waistband of her jeans, under her loose hanging T-shirt. When Zen brought the tray of brownies in and set them down in front of her, she took two, suddenly hungry. But she still wouldn’t talk to him. * * * * * * * "Did you *see* that?" Sniper was practically hopping up and down on the sidewalk. "What *was* that?" "The orb created an illusion," Dionysus said. "That is the shop, and someone was there this morning who made you think you were where you were not. We just have to find out who that someone was." He frowned. "But... how?" He and MyKai stared at each other, completely at a loss. Without knowing who was responsible for the orb, they could not know where to begin their search. It was only when SniperKai shuffled his feet and cleared his throat that they looked at him. “Um,” he said. “HotMama.” * * * * * * * “What makes you think I know anything?” HotMama rumbled, clearly irritated by their questions. “I’m just a plain and simple barkeep, I just mind my business and provide a place where the Nadless Kais don’t get treated bad.” She stared pointedly at MyKai. He ignored her look. “You know everybody in town,” he said. “More importantly, you know *about* everybody in town. You would know if there were strangers about.” “So what? It ain’t a crime to be a stranger in this town.” MyKai dropped his gaze to the side and thought, before speaking. “You say you want to provide a place where the Nadless clones can gather unmolested. But someone has mounted an attack on an APEC mistress, which is the same as an attack on APEC itself.” He leaned forward, giving her The Look. “You know the Nadless clones will be blamed if we do not find out who is responsible.” HotMama grew flushed and short of breath. “Uh... yeah...” She fanned herself with a bar rag. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Um... whoo! I guess I seen some new trolls around town the last couple of days.” “Where?” “Well, some of ‘em come in here, but I don’t let ‘em stay long. I don’t cotton to that kind of trash in here. I think they got a place outside of town. Northwest, three or four miles.” MyKai thought a moment longer. Then: “Is Dr. Oziel involved?” HotMama snorted. “Tchyeah right! Oziel’s off running some kind of presidential campaign or something, last I heard. This ain’t Oziel’s doing, this time.” He nodded, satisfied, and turned away, followed by Dionysus and Sniper. Once on the street, Dionysus asked him: “Should we get our brothers, MyKai? Mount an assault?” “Not yet, Ny. Let’s scope the place out first, and see if it’s what we’re looking for.” They started to walk away, when MyKai noticed Sniper was still with them. “Where do you think you are going?” “With you.” MyKai and Dionysus looked at each other, eyebrows raised in amusement at the presumption of this antiKai. “You don’t belong with us,” Dionysus said. “Get lost. And count yourself lucky you’ve still got your head.” “You might need help,” Sniper protested. “What makes you think we would trust you?” MyKai growled. “Look. I know you don’t think much of me. But I care about her too.” Sniper rushed on, cutting off the outraged remark MyKai was about to make. “All I wanted to do was give her a gift. Somebody used me to hurt her, and I don’t like it. So I’ve got as much stake in this as you do.” MyKai was clearly so angry he couldn’t speak. But Dionysus, ever the peacemaker, said: “We might be able to use him, MyKai. It couldn’t hurt to have three of us instead of two.” “He’ll betray us.” “I won’t!” MyKai thought it over, and then stepped up eye to eye with Sniper. “If you do,” he said, “I’ll put your shredded parts in the incinerator myself.”
Date: 3/11/2001
* * * * * * * In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 8
Night descended softly on the castle and the surrounding countryside. In the far distance, KaiTown’s lights sparkled invitingly. A full, fat moon rose over the hills and bathed everything in light and shadow. dgrequeen quietly slipped out of the gate. She was dressed all in black, her hair tucked up in a black watch cap, and she carried a back pack full of items she had thought might be necessary. Looking all around, she made sure no one was watching from the battlements (there was laughter up there, indicating Kai21 and Kai13 and some of the other brothers were indulging in a round of night trollgolf) but they were facing toward the woods. If she went around and followed the river for a way, they would not be able to see her. She felt a small misgiving that she had tricked ZenFAA --- she let him lock her in the bedroom while he went off to the labs to find a remedy for the splitting headache she claimed she had --- but she was stubbornly determined to find MyKai. Once upon a time, she almost lost him, and she wasn’t going to risk that again. She crept along the outside of the moat, avoiding the Whomping Willows, and keeping an eye out for the grindylows, but keeping well within the shadow of the castle. Once at the riverbank, she struck out for the woods. She knew when she was well out of range, she could cut across to the road and the going would be easier. As soon as she gained the woods, a dark figure detached itself from the deeper shadows of the castle and silently followed. * * * * * * * They found the house easily, an old, ramshackle structure just off the main road toward Realityville. It sat back in some trees --- funny how these old houses all did that --- but the trolls made no secret of their presence there. The windows blazed with light, and there was loud music thumping from the open door. Trolls congregated on the broken down porch and hung out the windows, yelling and laughing drunkenly at each other. “Must be having a party,” Dionysus remarked. The two APEC brothers and their Nadless cousin hunkered down in the underbrush, well back in the shadow of the trees. They watched the troll festivities, which at this moment, featured a contest among the trolls on the porch to see who could make the loudest body noises. Even SniperKai, who had spent considerably more time among trolls than had either MyKai or DionysusKai, seemed repulsed. “They’re celebrating *something*,” MyKai said. The woods around them lit up momentarily with headlights from a car, and they ducked back into the shadows of the underbrush. A long, black limousine pulled up in front of the house, and suddenly, the trolls fell silent. The music was shut off, and all the trolls began coming out of the house to gather around the car. A soft chant began. “What are they saying?” MyKai and DionysusKai strained to hear the words, but couldn’t quite make it out. MyKai glanced back at SniperKai to ask if he knew what they were saying, and was surprised to see the Nadless clone trembling, his eyes wide with fear. “What is it?” he asked. Sniper continued to stare at the limo, unable or unwilling to answer. The chant grew louder. The trolls parted as the car door opened, and out stepped a stooped, white-haired old character draped in a long, grayish cloak or robe --- at this distance it was hard to make out much. MyKai reached back and grabbed Sniper’s shirt. “What is it!” he demanded, shaking him. “Who is that?” “It’s ....” Sniper’s mouth worked, but nothing would come out. “Mania,” the trolls chanted, growing louder. “Mania. Mania. Hail the coming of Mania.” “It’s her,” Sniper whispered at last. “I didn’t know it would be her. I should have known, but I didn’t.” “Who? Who is she?” “Mania,” Sniper said, his voice dry and frightened. “The Grandmother of Ghosts.” CF: In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 9
Date: 3/12/2001
* * * * * * *
CF: In Memories Am I Lost, Pt.
"Nadless used to talk about her." The three clones huddled together in the underbrush, unsure what to do now. Sniper shivered, hugging his knees to his chin, obviously afraid. "She steals your soul," he went on. "Nadless said even His Divine Shadow was afraid of her. She was the one who gave him the power to take memories." "His Divine Shadow!" MyKai's voice was skeptical. "That was thousands of years ago. And the Light Universe was destroyed, according to the legend. How could this Grandmother of Ghosts still exist?" "Nadless said she could cross universes and time itself," Sniper said. "Nothing can stop her. If you're alive, she can get you. Even if you're… dead… she can get you." DionysusKai raised himself a little to peer over the bushes. "And yet," he said, "she rides around in a limo." Sniper shivered again. "Maybe it just *looks* like a limo." "We need to get closer and find out what's going on." DionysusKai, looking at the house, shook his head. The trolls, surrounding their leader, were standing silent. No one moved or spoke. It was as if they were communing with the wizened old figure in their midst, who also stood completely still. "I don't know if that's a good idea, MyKai. There are an awful lot of trolls there, and if she's as dangerous as Sniper says…" Something changed in the air. The old woman --- or whatever she was --- lifted her head, questing. The trolls shifted uneasily, looking at her and at each other. The Kai clones became aware that the box on the ground next to MyKai --- which contained the deadly orb --- was vibrating slightly. A kind of humming, almost too low to hear, began to fill the air. MyKai put his hands on the box, but couldn't quell the vibration. Frustrated, he peeled off the lid and looked in at the orb, which was glowing eerily, tiny flames of light shooting down and around the criss-crossed golden bands. The humming was growing louder, even though MyKai clapped the lid back on and held it there. "Make it stop!" Sniper hissed. "It's going to give us away!" "And how do I do that?" MyKai hissed back. "MyKai," said Dionysus. They all looked. The troll queen was looking in their direction with blind-looking silvered eyes, her nose testing the air like a bloodhound's. The trolls pressed close to her, slobbering expectantly. They could smell the blood of the hunt. She raised her skeletal hand and pointed with one withered claw directly at the spot where the three Kai clones were hiding. "Run!" said MyKai.
* * * * * * * dgrequeen was able to see her way through the woods, as the trees had not yet leafed out, and bright moonlight filtered through, creating lacy, crisscross patterns of light and dark. She felt fairly confident that there would be no trolls or antiKais about this late; they were usually in town by now, hanging out in HotMama's bar. At least… she hoped so. She tried to move quietly anyway, but it was hard to do with so much underbrush and fallen dead vegetation underfoot. She felt like she was making a terrible racket, pushing through the bushes and piles of leaves. If only there were some wind, it might mask her movements somewhat, but the air was perfectly still. A… something… flapped by her head, scaring the by-Lexx out of her, but it was only an owl night-hunting. She stopped to catch her breath, and heard something crack in the woods behind her. Alarmed, she peered back through the shadows. It was hard to make anything out. Could have been an animal, she supposed, stepping on a fallen branch. But then she saw something move, back in the trees, a rippling of moonlight and shadow. A small trickle of fear ran down her spine, and she quickly began moving again in the opposite direction, toward where she thought the road was. It was hard going. Branches snagged her clothes, and the footing was extremely uneven. Looking back over her shoulder, she thought she saw the… whatever it was… flit through the trees a little closer than before. She sped up, snagged a tree root with her foot and went down in a tangle of leaves and gnarled vines. It was so unexpected, so frightening, that she whimpered out loud and scrambled to her feet. Something was coming. It crashed through the underbrush toward her. dgrequeen threw caution to the winds and ran, heedless of the whipping branches that scratched at her. She glanced back, and saw the figure, seeming to flicker in moonlight and darkness with a kind of strobe light effect, as it clearly gained ground on her. She threw her head down and redoubled her speed, fighting the underbrush, terrified. She heard something pass in the tree branches overhead with a ghostly whistle, and then, the figure dropped right in front of her and she dug in her heels, sliding to a stop on her backside. The dark figure bent toward her, and she screamed.
Date: 3/13/2001
* * * * * * * CF: In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 10
"Are you hurt?" dgrequeen looked up into the kindly, concerned face of Kai10, softly shadowed in the moonlight, and nearly wept from relief. "VisionAri knew you'd find a way to get out," he said, helping her up. "She said it was inevitable, so she sent me to keep an eye on you." "I thought…" dgre stammered, still trembling from fright. "I thought you were… something." "I heard you cry out and saw you fall," he said. "So I came running. Sorry if I scared you." She threw her arms around him and hugged him as hard as she could, while he stood there, dumbfounded. If he could have blushed, he would have. She let him go, and tried unsuccessfully to put a stern look on her face. "I'm not going back without MyKai," she said stubbornly. "I know," he answered, just as she was about to launch into her argument. She closed her mouth, caught in the verbal equivalent of a stumble, and tried to think what to say next. "Will you help me find him?" "Well…" Kai10 appeared to be thinking. "You weren't supposed to know I was following you. And Vis didn't say what to do if you found me out. But she didn't say to bring you back, so I will help you." "Thank you, Kai10." He took her hand and led her through the woods, carefully choosing their path, helping her over the roughest spots. "By the way," he said conversationally, "I'd like my lock picks back, if you don't mind." * * * * * * *
The troll pack was in full cry. They split into two groups and cut off the way back to the road, so the three clones were forced to run deeper into the woods. MyKai managed to thwack a few of the ones who tried to outflank them, and DionysusKai skewered a couple with arrows, but neither clone had time for a full-scale defense. All they could do was run, with the terrified SniperKai hot on their heels. MyKai hung on to the box containing the orb, despite the fact that he feared it might give them away. It was too dangerous to leave behind, that was a simple fact. As he ran, his mind raced equally fast to find a solution. Bury it perhaps? Only if he could get far enough ahead of the trolls to hide the orb's grave forever, and there was no guarantee that burying it would work. The thing was evil. It would probably call its evil mistress straight to it. And if that happened, MyKai knew it would find its way back into APEC Castle sooner or later. They were able to slow down after a while, as the yelling trolls fell far behind. Trolls are notoriously fat and slow, and these were no exception. MyKai stopped to listen, concluding that they had veered off in another direction. Probably, out of sight of their queen, and being trolls with no hankering to fight and get thwacked, they would blunder around in the woods for a while and then go back and report that the clones had gotten away. "We're safe," MyKai said. "Come on, we can make the road from here." "You should get rid of that," Sniper said. MyKai looked at the box. The orb inside had fallen still, at least. "I can't. It's too dangerous to risk letting them find it." He started walking again, and the other two fell into step beside him. "We'll have to take it back with us. We'll report what we've found out, and let them decide what to do." Dionysus slung his bow across his back and adjusted the quiver of arrows. "I'll be glad to see my Pandora again," he said. "I don't like these woods." MyKai and Sniper inadvertently caught each other's eye and both instantly looked away, each knowing the other was thinking the same thing. They found an old deer track which made negotiating the woods a little easier. Eventually, it crossed a small stream and climbed up an embankment to the road again. They stopped at its edge and listened, but the night was still. The trolls had either gone the other way, or given up altogether. Figuring it was safe, MyKai stepped out on the road. What none of them had counted on was the limo. The night lit up in the harsh glare of headlights, trapping them on the road. With a screech of smoking tires, the car bore down on them. MyKai threw himself backwards toward the embankment, dragging Dionysus with him, but as he fell, he lost the box and it tumbled down, landing at the bottom out of reach. Sniper leapt down beside them and crouched, as a contingent of trolls poured over the top of the embankment, screaming horribly. The trolls heaved a rolled-up net which spread itself over MyKai and Dionysus, just catching Sniper at its edge. The antiKai wiggled out from under the net, as it tightened over the other two Kais. DionysusKai pulled at the net, while MyKai tried to hack at it with his brace, but not only was the net fabric too heavy and tough to part easily, it quickly constricted itself around them, immobilizing them. SniperKai scrambled backward away from them. He stopped to look back at MyKai for just an instant. "Sniper!" MyKai rasped, struggling against the net. The antiKai glanced at the box lying in the weeds. Then he looked at MyKai again, picked up the box, and stood up to face the trolls. "Look!" he cried. "I have the orb. Tell Mania,
it's SniperKai, and I've captured the orb for her."
Date: 3/14/2001
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * * CF: In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 11
“It was a terrible experience, Kai10,” dgrequeen was saying as they neared HotMama’s bar. “I felt like all my insides were being sucked out by that thing. I watched every memory I have, in every detail, go by.” “It sounds terrible.” “I almost went crazy. That’s why I’m so afraid for MyKai. I’m so afraid he doesn’t understand what he’s up against.” Kai10 smiled grimly. “I don’t think that would stop him.” “I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to him.” She looked at Kai10 a little sheepishly. “I --- I guess I know now why he made ZenFAA lock me in.” Kai10 grinned at her. “Sometimes we clones have to do what’s best for you mistresses, whether you like it or not. You so seldom listen to reason.” “We’re here,” she said, looking up at the sign over the door. She looked at Kai10, took a deep breath and pushed her way in. HotMama, behind the cash register as always, rolled her eyes when she saw the APEC woman and her clone walk in. By all the bugs in space, another one? “Good lord! First the clones, then the mistresses, for Pete’s sake. What do YOU want?” “I want to know where my clone went, that’s what. And you must know, since you’ve obviously seen him.” dgrequeen folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Sure, I saw him.” HotMama took a puff of her stogie, coolly facing dgre down. “If you mean that pushy one that came in here with his buddy and kidnapped SniperKai, who wasn’t bothering anybody.” “Where did they go?” “How should I know?” Kai10 stepped over to the bar, looked into the spiffy mirror with scroll-etched borders, adjusting his forelock, and then armed his brace. “Nice mirror.” HotMama sighed. “Everybody wants the mirror. All right. There’s a house outside of town where all the trolls hang out. I think they went there. Now get out and don’t bother me again.” “What do you know about a certain orb?” “What’s a orb?” dgrequeen sighed, took a napkin from its holder, and spread it out. “Draw us a map.” * * * * * * * They crouched in the bushes, almost in the same spot where MyKai, Dionysus, and Sniper had hidden earlier. There were trolls piled up on the porch, snoring loudly, but no other signs of life. The house was lit up, but all was still. “Yep, it’s a troll nest all right. You suppose MyKai and Ny are in there?” Kai10 asked. “Who knows? They could be anywhere. I’m not even sure if HotMama told us the truth.” “We’re not going in there alone,” Kai10 said. “We’re getting help.” “How? It will take forever to go all the way back to the castle.” Kai10 grinned at her and pulled out a cell phone. “I’m a good clone scout,” he said. “I always come prepared.” CF: In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 12
Date: 3/14/2001
Valdron’s Handy Dandy Disclaimer, et al * * * * * * * CF: In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 12
As the sky outside began to get light, the Grandmother of Ghosts sat down in a chair in the main room like a queen on a throne, surrounded by a radiant aura that could have been half-seen pulses of light, or merely coalescences of dust motes. It was hard to tell in the uncertain light from the approaching dawn. She huddled in the chair like something dead, impossibly old, an ancient toad in human form. Her strange silver eyes regarded the two clones who had been dumped in front of her like a sack of garbage, with parting kicks from the angry, muttering trolls who had hauled them there. “Mmm,” she grunted, and gestured at the trolls. One of them bent down and did something, releasing the net, allowing the two to stand up. Immediately, the trolls fell on them, wrapping them in heavy rope and tying their hands behind their backs. One of the trolls threw DionysusKai’s bow and arrows and MyKai’s brace onto the floor beside the troll queen’s chair. SniperKai hesitantly stepped forward and held out the battered gift box. “I return your gift, my queen,” he said. MyKai flinched, his eyes dark with rage. Mania tilted her head a little, her blind-looking eyes observing SniperKai in silence. Slowly, he lowered the box, and she returned her attention to the APEC clones. “Do you know who I am?” she said at last, in a voice that demonstrated far more power than her wizened old self would suggest. “The queen of the trolls,” Dionysus said. “We heard you called the Grandmother of Ghosts,” MyKai said. She nodded with a self-satisfied smile, evidently pleased with their answers. “It’s good to know your enemy. And you!” she said, whipping her head around to the startled SniperKai. “You know me as well.” “Y-yes, my queen.” “Are you a troll, then?” she asked. He looked confused. “No.” “Then I am not your queen.” She beckoned to him. “Come here.” Hesitantly, he went to her. She held out her hand and he gave her the gift box. “I know your name,” she said indistinctly. Sniper looked confused. Had she said “know”, or was the word she used “own”? “You are SniperKai. I gave you the orb for a gift, remember?” “Yes, m--- uh, ma’am.” “You may call me Mania. Was it you that told them about me?” Sniper glanced at the other two Kais. “Yes.” “You’re what they call an antiKai, are you not.” It was a statement more than a question. “What are you doing with these two?” “I...” He refused to look at MyKai, who was glaring hatred at him. “Because I love... someone...” She cackled, a shuddery, ugly sound. “One of theirs!” she snorted. “Hahahahahaha!!” Sniper was angry. “Yes,” he said defiantly. “Oh, the curse of the Kais! To love unwillingly. Is that not so, APEC clones?” “Love is never unwilling,” MyKai said coolly, “or it would not be love.” Mania stared at him. Then she began to laugh uproariously, slapping her old knees. “I concede the point, young clone. But you have now defended your enemy, have you not?” She nodded at SniperKai. “If you explain your own love so, how do you not justify his?” MyKai was silent. “And you, SniperKai? Have you nothing to say to this one? Come, come, say whatever is on your mind.” Sniper hesitated, and then looked directly at MyKai. “You APEC clones,” he snarled. “So smug and superior. You all think you’re better than we Nadless clones are, but we all share the same DNA! You were given everything, but you didn’t earn any of it!” He looked questioningly back at the queen. She nodded, grinning, and Sniper kicked MyKai’s feet out from under him. He fell heavily to the floor, with Sniper on top of him. “How does it feel?” Sniper hissed, backhanding MyKai across the face. “To be treated like you’re less than nothing!” He hit MyKai again, and then, his anger unabated, he released his brace into his hand, and slashed at MyKai, until the troll queen threw up her hand. “Enough!” she shouted. She waved her old hand dismissively. “Enough of this prattle. I have another reason for luring these two here --- lucky, in fact, to get two. Oh, yes, you have been trapped, right and properly, young APEC clones. Attack an APEC mistress, and you get an APEC clone coming to the rescue. You are entirely too predictable.” SniperKai turned and knelt beside the troll queen. “Please, my --- Mania. Allow me to kill them both dead-dead.” She swept her hand through the air, silencing him. “What do you want with us?” DionysusKai asked, leaning into MyKai to help him get to his feet, his bruises and cuts already healing. “I’ve heard that the APEC clones have souls. I want to see if that’s true.” She reached into the box and brought out the orb. It pulsated in her hand, like an evil thing alive. “You see, I remember your father Kai’s soul.” MyKai and Dionysus looked at each other, dismayed. “You didn’t take his soul,” Dionysus said. “No.” Her tone was regretful. “His Divine Shadow cheated me of it. He took your father’s memories, using *my* gifts, and made an undead assassin of him, thereby blocking me from the one thing I wanted. Your father Kai had a magnificent soul, ancient and strong, and wise beyond his young life. I have tasted it these many millenia, wanting it so.” “You will never get it!” hissed MyKai. “Probably true. Therefore, I will treat myself to the next best thing. How fortunate for me, after all this time, to have discovered your little hideaway on this miserable backwater of a planet.” She cackled. “So many of you. I can feast here for a long time.” The two APEC clones stared at her in horror. Even SniperKai, where he knelt on the floor beside her, seemed taken aback. She rose from her chair and hobbled forward, holding the orb. It murmured, increasing in intensity as she drew near the clones. Its deadly song filled the air. She crooned to it: “Yes, my pretty, you will have your fill very soon. We will share these two delectable morsels, you and I.” She looked from one clone to the other. “Who’s first?” She balanced the orb delicately in her withered
claw, shifting first from MyKai to Dionysus and back to MyKai, back and
forth. Without warning, she flipped the orb into the air, caught it again,
and thrust it at MyKai's face.
Date: 3/14/2001
* * * * * * * CF: In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 13
He hadn’t intended to let the orb touch him. He tried to step back, stumbling into Dionysus, and he threw his arms wide, parting the ropes at the weak spots where Sniper’s brace had cut almost through them. But the deadly object in Mania’s hand briefly touched MyKai’s forehead, igniting a fire behind his eyes even as he caught, in midair, his own brace, which SniperKai had thrown at him. In the same fluid motion, without even a pause, MyKai sliced through DionysusKai’s bonds and reattached the brace to its casing. Dionysus threw his own ropes off, catching the bow and snatching a single arrow from the quiver that Sniper threw next. The trolls around them erupted with screams, but their reflexes, as always, were no match for the two --- no, three --- Kais out for blood. Dionysus aimed his arrow for Mania and let it fly. In the melee, Mania struggled to keep hold of the orb, inadvertently twisting so that the arrow aimed for her heart struck the orb instead. Showering sparks, it flew across the room. She shrieked, and scrambled after it, as it was kicked hither and yon by the milling feet of panicked trolls. The trolls suddenly knew they had more to fear than just the three Kai clones in the room. There was the rapidly growing sound of wheeled thunder and a huge crash as the War Wagon crashed through the front wall of the room, sending trolls flying every which way. Kai clones poured out of the Wagon and began thwacking the loathsome creatures, showering the room with troll bits and gore. MyKai was fairly oblivious to it all. His sight had narrowed to one target, and his purpose was equally singular. It had, after all, been given to him by His Divine Shadow in the Cluster, and the mandate was clear: kill the Grandmother of Ghosts. It was an order never carried out in the confusion following the theft of the Lexx, and after that there was a time... a very long time... when things were adrift. He was no longer His Divine Shadow’s assassin, but some sort of bodyguard, or protector or... and then there were others, copies of himself, that... He shook his head, and crossed the room, following the old creature as she scurried away, trying to pick up the runaway orb. Ah, yes, the orb, he remembered this. His Divine Shadow had ordered its return, as soon as Mania was dead. She saw him coming, and managed to snatch the orb up. But immediately she knew something was wrong: instead of taking from him, the orb had given him something, memories he wasn’t meant to have. And the memories were alive. They screamed in his head, two thousand years of murder. MyKai’s footsteps faltered. “I am Kai,” he said, “Last of the...” No, that wasn’t quite right. He was a Divine Assassin. No, he was a... I am... “I kill you now in the name of His Divine Shadow,” he said, firing his brace. “It’s not the end!” she cackled, as the brace cut through the orb directly into her body. Her bloodcurdling shriek was the sound of hell opening, as flames spurted from the orb, engulfing her and spreading outward in a shock wave that threw MyKai --- and in fact, everyone --- backward. The column of flame hovered and took on an aspect that resembled her grinning face, and then the wood of the ceiling caught in a roaring, rapidly spreading inferno that began to race down the walls. Trolls, Kais, and mistresses poured out of the house with the roiling clouds of smoke, coughing and hacking. The trolls made for the woods, pursued by howling Kais this time, and lafemmenikita hastily backed the War Wagon out of the caved-in wall of the house to escape the flames. MyKai calmly walked out of the house and down the broken steps like an avenging angel descending from the fires of hell. He was not yet done with his mission. The smell of blood was thick in the air. This was what he, the Last of the Brunnen-G, existed for, his sole purpose the service of His Divine Shadow. He lifted his arm. “MyKai!” dgrequeen screamed, directly in his line of fire. “MyKai, it’s me!” “I kill you now in the---” And that’s when SniperKai let fly and beheaded him. Date: 3/14/2001
* * * * * * * CF: In Memories Am I Lost, Pt. 14, End The cryopod door opened and the coldness seeped out of his tissues little by little. He became aware that he was in the Clone Lab, and that his head was sitting between his feet. A little confused, MyKai picked it up and set it where it belonged, running his fingers around his neck to make sure everything was situated correctly. “MyKai?” He saw dgrequeen in a chair by the cryopod. She was red eyed, looking exhausted, as if she had been sitting there for hours. He stepped out and knelt down beside her. “My queen?” “Oh, thank God, you’re all right.” Her eyes closed with an expression of relief, and she leaned against him. “Of course, I’m all---” A shred of memory flickered in his brain, of blood, and death, and the murderous behest of His Divine Shadow. “Oh,” MyKai said, holding her close. * * * * * * * They celebrated in the Great Hall with wine and food, and dancing. The Castle rang with light and music. Another day had gone and another night had come, and they were victorious, evil once again locked outside the gates. MyKai and DionysusKai were asked over and over to describe the Grandmother of Ghosts whom, they all assured themselves, was gone for good, although not one of them actually believed it. Even SniperKai had been invited to the party, and to the credit of APEC, was treated very kindly, even by the APEC clones. He was very uncomfortable among them, however, and remained mostly by himself. dgrequeen shyly approached where he stood, half turned away from the others. He stood stiffly, unwilling to look at her, but he let her take his hand, and her touch made him go weak in the knees. “You saved my life,” she said simply. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” “And thank you for saving MyKai and Ny,” she said. “I didn’t do it for them,” he said. “I know. But I want you to know that it means a lot to me.” He looked sideways at her. “It does?” “Yes. I know what you think you feel for me...” He pulled his hand away. “Don’t make light of my feelings.” “No, no! I wouldn’t!” She wrung her hands. “I’m not making this very clear, am I? I just want you to understand...” “That you love him.” Sniper turned to face her. “And only him.” She looked down, sad to see the look in his soft hazel eyes. “yes.” “It’s all right,” he said, lifting his head, salvaging his pride. “I never expected it to be any different. And now I can go on with my own life.” MyKai came up behind dgrequeen. “May I speak to him alone?” He caught her look, and added, “Please. It’s important.” She nodded and walked away. MyKai watched until she was out of earshot, and then he faced Sniper. “I already told her I’m not going to bother her anymore...” Sniper began, but MyKai lifted his hand. “I want to tell you that I learned something from you.” Sniper stood silent, his face turned away. “Something valuable. Maybe something I should have known from the first,” MyKai went on. “There really isn’t any difference between ourselves and you... other Kais. It is the same DNA. We were more fortunate to have been born for APEC, that’s all, and like human birth, it was just a matter of accident for us. None of us is going to step aside and give up what we are, or *where* we are for any of you. But, perhaps... we can offer our assistance, and be... if not friends, at least... not enemies?” Sniper looked up to see MyKai holding out his hand. Slowly, Sniper reached out and took it. “Take care of her,” he said. * * * * * * * Later in their bedchamber, after dgrequeen had spent a good hour explaining herself to a very miffed ZenFAA, and promising to make it up to him, the two lovers lay together watching the moon set through the open balcony door. Their lovemaking had been slow and tender, a gentle celebration of the life they shared together and could now, thankfully, resume. “My queen,” MyKai whispered, his lips pressed against her hair, “I will love you forever.” “And I, you, my Kai.” * * * * * * * He watched from the edge of the woods for
a long time, as the lights in the Castle went out one by one, wondering
which one was hers. Finally, as the moon dipped below the horizon, Sniper
shoved his hands in his pockets, turned, and walked away.
Story from posts on the Lexx/Scifi
Bulletin Board.
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